It is so

That I loved you tremendously, my dear.

Undoubtedly so.

So much, that a single thought of you might well up within me

And collapse my chest as it tries to be born unto the air,

As it tries to be born unto the air.

And I recall the days where I would bask upon the softness of your laugh,

The softness of your mouth.

Much like the lizard on Summer’s windowpane.

But, only just as the sun began to make way into the space the moon had kept for him,

Untucked, in the balance of their yearning affair.

Like a lizard on Summer’s windowpane,

I would wait.

I would wait,

Black-blooded and thirsty for the life you always promised.

For the almost-human red,

You warmed the innermost parts of me to be.

For the almost-human heart you would bring to a steady rhythm,

From the lull of twilight and cicadas and pecan trees

And air so thick, one would think it was the afterbirth of an atmosphere being reborn over and over again.

But alas,

Almost-human was never most of human enough to satisfy

The once thick and lush moments of dawn quickly turned,

Turned to the harsh realities of daylight and Louisiana summers

With no shade or rain or—in my love’s fault—

Thought to move away from you.

And so, as a lizard on Summer’s windowpane,

I singed and baked and perished upon the pout of your mouth.

Upon the very promise that told me life was coming, that dawn would bring steadfastness

Into my almost-human heart.

~ Love and Joy, AM

Love elephant and want to go steady?

Sign up for our (curated) daily and weekly newsletters!

Assistant Editor: Christina Lorenzo/Editor: Bryonie Wise

Photo: flickr/benprks